


Outside the Cornfields

by why_didnt_i_get_any_soup, yosoyleche



Series: Kara Kent Vs. The World [1]
Category: Batman: The Animated Series, DC Animated Universe, DCU, DCU (Animated), Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Superman: The Animated Series, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Major Original Character(s), Pre-Slash, Smallville - Freeform, Villains, farm, farming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-04 02:40:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5317394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/why_didnt_i_get_any_soup/pseuds/why_didnt_i_get_any_soup, https://archiveofourown.org/users/yosoyleche/pseuds/yosoyleche
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new company crops up in Smallville and the townsfolk are not happy.</p><p>This story is for the DC Animated Universe and is in no way related to the new show, if that's what you're looking for. Also, this is part of what will eventually be a series that leads up to either superbat or the holy trinity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Outside the Cornfields

**Author's Note:**

> As/N: Sorry, we made some minor edits to the story (and the DCAU cannon). We liked the idea of Kara being from Krypton more than her being from Argon. Just so you know!

Ma and Pa had been working more than enough the past week, tending to the oats that were almost ready to be harvested and Kara had been getting up at six to do her chores, picking up some of the slack, but she had no complaints. Though, it was starting to get close to Clark's birthday and she wondered why they didn't just ask him to do it when he got home or just add it on to her chores since she was getting up anyway.

Ma called her downstairs, telling her she needed to hurry up and eat breakfast or she was going to be late. The house smelled like bacon, since Ma made it a point to cook a well-rounded meal every day, even with their busy schedule during the harvest season.Kara zipped down the stairs at inhuman speed and sat down where Ma was just setting down a plate with the bacon on a paper towel in the center of the kitchen table. Her gray hair that she usually wore down was up in a neat ponytail to keep it off her neck when she was out in the field.

"Kara, slow down or you're going to upset your stomach."

"I'm Kryptonian, Ma. I'll be fine. Plus, I'm in a bit of a hurry anyway. I'm meeting up with Abby today."

"Well, don't run off _too_ quickly if you're meeting her." Pa said, coming in from the field, wiping the dirt from his hands with a rag. He gave her a meaningful look and Martha nodded solemnly, in accordance.

"Low profile." Ma mouthed.

Kara rolled her eyes and grabbed a few more pieces of bacon, stuffing a slice of toast into her mouth before shouldering her backpack and moving out the front door.

"Love y'all!" She called over her shoulder.

"Low profile!" Pa called after her as she slammed the door, just a little harder than she knew she needed to—just a small reminder of her power. Not that the Kents needed to be reminded.

When she knew she was out of sight of her parents, she ran to the edge of the farm—not _super_ fast but fast enough to clear the edge of the property in a few seconds—and moved towards the center of town. The water tower was looming just in the distance and the other buildings were starting to materialize over the corn fields. She directed herself towards the library where she knew Abby would be waiting. There was a small crowd gathering in the street, blocking her way. It almost looked like a mob. Nervously, Kara adjusted her wig, hoping it hadn't come loose when she was running.

As she drew closer, she could hear shouts of outrage and her stomach started to clench up. They were all gathered around an office space that was newly occupied by an outsider company, Powers Incorporated, that everyone severely distrusted already. So far, they had seemed harmless but they were a seed manufacturing company that wanted to push their GMOs onto Smallville farmers. Before now, Kara had only heard low grumblings about the company, about them not being welcomed, but it was mostly from her own parents. Now, her neighbors—people she'd always known but didn't know—were standing outside the office space and shouting at them to _GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM!_

Though, not everyone was shouting; some were just watching, and as Kara approached she saw Abby across the group, spectating from a small distance. Quickly, Kara shuffled over to her friend, careful to give the mob a wide berth as she navigated around them.

"We should probably get to school." Abby whispered, her owl eyes gazing at the mob as their energy grew.

"That crowd just keeps _growing_." Kara said looking back at it.

"Yeah. Your folks would be mad, too, if those Powers people got to _their_ farm." Abby said, looking up towards the school grounds.

"Yeah. I don't think Ma and Pa would be up in arms like those people though." Kara said, pulling at the bottom of her overalls.

"Probably not. Your folks are too _nice_ for that." Abby said, smirking.

Kara smiled and shook her head at that. "Yeah, they are."

***

"Ms. Miller!" The lanky blonde boy, who was constantly getting sent to the principal's office, raised his hand so high that he was nearly out of his seat.

Ms. Miller rolled her eyes, but nodded. "Yes, Robbie?"

"Did you see that protest? My pa's down there. He's telling them Powers people to go _fuck_ themselves."

" _Language_ , Mr. Lawson."

"We oughta be down there too, don't you think? This is serious!" He cried.

"Maybe this might be a good time to tell you guys about GMOs..." Ms. Miller cut in.

"Uh uh, Ms. Miller. I heard they're messin' with people's farms. Some people are saying they're stuff's gone missin' and everything!" Robbie's eyes were wide with conspiracy. He was the type of student to claim he'd found crop circles on his family farm. Kara quite liked him.

"Ms. Miller," Abby interrupted, her small voice cutting through by sheer octave, "while not all GMOs are bad—the concept has been around since homo sapiens started agriculture—I do happen to know that Powers Incorporated is a bit... _shady_." Her sentence died off a little, her self-consciousness kicking in as she realized Robbie and the rest of the class were training their eyes solely on her.

Kara gave a look of encouragement, nodding for her to go on.

"What do you mean by that, Ms. Sanders?"

"Well," she cleared her throat, "This company has cropped up in a few towns already. And in each case, the people have all moved out. The towns are all just CAFOs now."

"Is that even legal?" Robbie squeaked, looking rather green around the gills.

"Well, perhaps if you're so worried then maybe you and Ms. Sanders could collaborate on an article for the school paper." Ms. Miller suggested, trying to finish the conversation.

"Oh god, no." Abby whispered, more to herself, though the whole class heard and laughed at that.

"That's awesome! _Abby?_ " Robbie's eyes got wide and he jumped up, pulling his legs into his chest with his shoes in his seat where his butt should have been.

"Mr. Lawson!" Ms. Miller warned, giving him the look she always gave him. "Feet. Out. Of the chair."

"Yes, ma'am." he muttered, righting himself.

"Sorry." Kara whispered apologetically in Abby's ear.

"It's fine. I doubt Robbie will really help me, but…" Abby smirked, putting a hand on Kara's cheek and patting it almost a little too hard, though Kara didn't mind.

"What?" Kara laughed leaning in closer.

" _We_ ," she gestured meaningfully between herself and Kara, "really could write a story about it in the school newspaper." Abby said, raising her eyebrows in invitation.

"I'm not really—" Kara began.

"Oh, come on. If you need any help, you could dial up your cousin. Ms. Miller would be so happy and surprised, considering he _was_ her _star pupil_."

"Clark would like that, too." Kara mused. Honestly, Clark would love it. He was the proudest of her when she made strides to fit in in Smallville. If anything, it could give Clark a reason to let her stay with him in Metropolis for part of summer break. Sure she was blending in, but she really wanted to get out there and fight some crime, take the wig off for a little while.

"Then it's settled!" Abby stage whispered to Kara. "Maybe if you don't have any yard

work to do, we can stop by the lot Powers set up." Abby suggested.

"Girls?" Ms. Miller called, the usual look of mild irritation she always had plastered on her face.

"Yes, ma'am?" Kara answered, having the good sense to look sheepish.

"I think there's been enough chatter about the protests." She glared pointedly at Robbie, who was completely unabashed as always. "We need to _start class_."

Kara nodded and sat up in her seat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Abby do the same.

 ***

Like any other school day, Kara met Abby in the library for lunch. They tucked themselves into the biography section and dug into their packed lunches.

"This is probably really serious, right?" Abby asked, her face tight and pale. Kara knew she'd been worrying about it all day.

"Well, you know me. I'm not above snooping, if that's what you're asking."

"Reconnaissance!" Abby's eyes went wide and her voice got loud. From farther in the recesses of the library, the librarian shushed her. "Sorry!" she hollered back, only to be shushed again. "Yes! Let's do that." She whispered at Kara, giving up on the librarian.

"Let's hit up Marty's first. Get a little bit in our stomach's before getting to the hard-hitting stuff."

"Sounds great!" Abby's face was lit up and Kara was glad she was getting to do serious journalism, though she wished it were under better circumstances. But, what made for good journalism other than the nitty-gritty?

***

Kara and Abby were walking towards Marty's when they saw movement in the window of the Powers Inc. building. There was an older man in a suit.

"That guy looks like he might be a higher up. Want to see if we can talk to him?" Kara said, stopping Abby to look into the glass front of the store.

"I-I…" Abby stammered, clearly nervous now that she was being put on the spot. Kara felt bad for her; she would have to think quickly if she wanted to be a journalist in this day and age.

"Come on." Kara looped an arm through Abby's and led her to the door.

The man spun around and the sound of the door swinging open and glared at them for just a flash of a second, probably not long enough for Abby to catch it but Kara saw it.

"Hello, there. How can I help you girls?" he spoke, all false and saccharine.

"I'm Abby and this is Kara." Abby introduced them, trying to be polite. Kara was annoyed at that. She could see right through him—literally and figuratively.

"Nelson Powers. At your service." He looked pleasant but Kara could tell he wanted them out of there ASAP.

"We want to know why you're here." Kara demanded, not letting him get away with anything.

The man smiled, then, sticky and syrupy sweet.

"I understand that there's some… _opposition_ ," his smile got impossibly wider and faker, "to this from smaller farmers, but let me show you what we're really doing."

Kara took the time to sweep her gaze around the building, using her x-ray vision to check behind the various office walls, staring at points just over Nelson's shoulder and hoping Abby was paying more attention since she was the journalist and not Kara. There weren't actually offices behind the main room; it all just looked like storage, as far as she could tell, though she was blocked by some parts that were obviously lead. What she could recognize seemed to come from farming equipment that she was familiar with. _Stolen, just like Robbie had said?_ Other than that, the rooms had some muddy boots and jackets lying around. _Highly suspect_.

"This is actually going to bring jobs to the community. A lot of agricultural _growth_." Nelson's voice grated on Kara's nerves.

"Yeah, that's nice," Kara cut him off, glaring so hard she could see his skull, "But I don't believe a word."

"Well, we have brochures," He gestured to a display set up on a table in the front room they were in, "Please help yourself!"

"I'll take one." Abby announced. She didn't sound angry, but she was focused. Kara could practically see the headlines and hooks forming in her head.

"Excellent! Tell your friends. It was good visiting with you, young ladies," he was clearly shepherding them out the front door then. Kara felt her muscles tensing up, like she was going to dig her heels in and not let him push her out. But she remembered Martha's earlier warning— _low profile_.

"Thanks a lot," Kara called after him as he closed the door behind them and she watched him clearly lock it through the glass, "asshole."

They stood there for a minute, just watching him recede into the darkness of the office as he clicked off the lights in the front. He clearly wasn't coming back out this way.

"Yeah, there is nothing that isn't fishy about this. I'm gonna call Clark about this. See if he's got any info." Kara shrugged, leading them towards Marty's. Her stomach was already rumbling with hunger.

Abby's eyes lit up again. "You're gonna call Clark?" She knew Clark was famous, and had even won some awards so she looked up to him since he was able to make it big even though he came from a town like Smallville. "That's so awesome! Do you think I could interview him?"

"I'm sure! I'll definitely ask him. For now, what do you say maybe we ought to wait and see if we can't follow Powers. Maybe he'll lead us right to what we're looking for. Since we'll be right there at Marty's we can see right from the window." Kara couldn't really see him anymore, in the darkness and the lead piled up in the back. She hoped he hadn't left.

"Um," Abby bit her lip, looking away, "I don't know how… _legal_ that is."

"Abby, I promise I will _not_ let anything happen to you."

"I...er…okay…" Abby sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. But Kara knew Abby trusted her and she took that trust very seriously.

Kara opened the door to Marty's and let Abby go in first. They quickly ordered, paying in cash, and chose the table closest to the door right in the window.

Before they could really start their conversation back up, the diner bell rung and two men schlumped into the room.

"They're not from around here..." Kara whispered once the men were at the counter ordering, low and almost feral. The two girls watched the men's seating choice towards the back of the restaurant but still with a clear view of Kara and Abby; it was obvious that the two men were watching them and it was disconcerting. It got her blood boiling and visions of smashing their heads against the table danced through her head. She wished she could sit closer to them, but knew it would be suspicious to just move for no real reason. Of course, she could hear everything the men were saying—if they had been saying anything, which they weren't. Just as Kara was contemplating the risk of moving, Abby yelped loudly.

"What's wrong?" Kara was halfway out of her chair, reaching for Abby in a split second, maybe just a little faster than she ought to have moved.

"I spilled my drink!" She declared loudly, "This seat's all wet now." Abby said the last bit lowly to Kara with a smirk. Only Kara could tell it was actually a smirk, though; it was a very specific contortion of muscles that she had come to recognize over years of friendship. _I need to stop underestimating Abby_ , she thought with a warm sense of affection for her friend.

"That's fine, girls!" a waitress called from across the room, noticing the commotion as the two of them tried sopping up the mess with napkins.

"Thank you!" the girls called back, moving to a booth two up from where the strangers were seated.

"Nice." Kara said, getting comfortable in the seat and leaning in to speak to Abby as privately as possible.

"You obviously wanted to see what was going on with them." Abby raised her eyebrows conspiratorially. "They seem awful interested in us. Powers' goons?"

"Have to be." Kara felt just a glimmer of worry at the thought that Nelson would send people to follow them, to watch them. It meant their families could be in danger if they figured out who they were.

The men were large, looking more like hired hands than business men, or even farmers. They _had_ to be up to no good. Kara leaned against the booth waiting for the men to say something implicating. But they were mostly silent. It left a lead pit in her stomach. They were specifically there to keep an eye on them. Right then, Kara decided they couldn't leave until the two goons left. And Kara could eat. She could wait them out.

Kara started off a conversation about school drama—something she hardly paid attention to—but she was able to fabricate a few things based on some television she'd watched. Abby was quick and followed her lead. They kept their conversation loud and boisterous, complaining about certain kids at school and their homework load. Abby kept coming back to Robbie, about how he was so dense, how he believed in aliens and all kinds of conspiracies. That actually made Kara a little nervous, hoping that kind of call out wouldn't get Robbie in trouble.

Their food came and they ate it slowly, slower than they normally would. And then they order some milkshakes. And they drank those slowly, starting to complain about their parents, keeping it pretty nonspecific to protect identities. All the men talked about was the pros and cons of certain tool brands—Craftsman versus Black and Decker. It was mostly just one of them who felt a strong conviction about Craftsman and the other man mostly just grunted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. The girls ordered some pie slices and were relieved when they saw the men finally get up and pay in cash. The second the men were out the door, they asked if the pies could be put into boxes to go and then they paid for the extra food they had.

When they stepped outside, it was dark and the night was crowding in on the girls like an open mouth. The goons were ambling down the road towards a shiny, new pickup truck parked in two of the spots near the Powers Inc building.

"Jackasses." Kara muttered under her breath and Abby just snorted in agreement. "You got your car?"Kara used the word 'car' but it was really mostly a banged up Ford pickup that Abby's dad let her drive into town for school sometimes.

"Yeah. I have it today."

"Feel like going for a _scenic_ drive?"

Abby sighed. "If we must."

***

"How exactly am I supposed to be _inconspicuous_ while tailing someone?" Abby asked, dropping her speed down even more as they watched the bright tail lights of the shiny black truck get farther away.

"When they stop— _if they stop_ —we keep going. Just for a little bit. Then we double back and maybe do a little walking."

"I guess that works." Abby shrugged, loosening her grip on the steering wheel. Kara felt a bit of relief when she saw them turn off the road. _The Smith's farm_. Abby kept the car going, just like Kara had suggested, and the two girls craned their necks to watch the truck bounce down a path between two corn fields. It was harvest season and the corn was high, perfect for them to navigate through and keep themselves hidden since clearly the two men weren't there for a _social_ call with the Smiths.

When they got to the edge of the property, Abby turned the headlights off and plunged them into an intense darkness. Carefully, she pulled a U-turn in the middle of the road and drove to about the midway point of the second half of the cornfield. They could see the driveway where the Smith's mailbox was, lighted up with one motion sensor light. They walked along the road and ducked in between a few rows of corn.Kara went first, knowing her vision was better than Abby's and led them along, towards where she heard voices muttering to each other. They were careful and quiet. Not saying a word to each other until Abby accidentally crunched down on a fallen husk.

"What was that?" one of the men questioned and Kara saw his head pop up, looking around.

"We're wasting time. Light it up already!" The other said, taking a lit match and tossing it into the cornfield.

"No!" Kara whispered, wishing terribly to stop what was about to happen. Kara smelled the tell-tale scent of lighter fluid and saw five more matches being thrown into the field. Before the girls could even move, the fire was already moving rapidly towards them.

"Abby, we gotta _go!_ " Kara hissed desperately, pulling at her friend's arm towards the road.

"I heard someone!" One of the men shouted, rushing towards them even as the corn started to crackle and pop with the fire spreading across it.

"Duck!" Kara screamed, pushing Abby to the ground and landing on top of her. She heard the bullets flying above and Abby's heart racing below her. The smoke making it hard for Abby to breathe. Kara muttered to Abby to crawl in a different direction, on to the property and towards the house and barn. The goons were running towards the road, the logical way to flee the scene. After waiting for the squeaking of the tires to fade out, they peaked their heads above the burning cornfield, noticing a distinct lack of a shiny black truck.

"Kara, I think we should stop." Abby gasped at the fresher air, coughing, "We almost got _killed_." She squeaked.

"I know, Abby. I think you're right, but we still need to _help_. Somehow."

"How?"

"Well, for starters, we need to call the fire department and let the Smiths know their crops are on fire. After we get this mess all sorted out, I'll call Clark, see if anyone in Metropolis can help or knows what to do."

"Like an environmental group?"

"Maybe. The people I'm thinking of don't like it when you mess with Earth, that's for sure. You have your cell phone on you?"

 ***

"Clark."

"Kara."

"Are you at work?"

"You called me on my work phone, Kara."

"Duh. Well, I need help with an article for the school newspaper. It's about _Powers Inc_." Kara didn't mince words and she knew the name would mean something to Clark.

"You're writing for the school newspaper? Kara, that's wonderful!" He exclaimed and it sounded like he might have stood up from his chair. Kara was surprised he'd chosen to latch on to _that_ one part of what she said.

" _Clark_." Kara deadpanned.

"Kara. I'm actually just going out to lunch with Bruce..."

"You and Bruce seem to be _chummier_ than last time we talked." Kara smirked. Clark snorted at the sound of her voice.

"It's not really _like_ that..." Clark trailed off sounding—what— _wistful?_

"You guys sound closer than Babs and me."

"We're just friends." Clark said, low. He had to clear his voice, clearly feeling awkward. She could just imagine him adjusting his glasses.

"I didn't say you weren't." she paused for a moment, but Clark didn't protest. "Methinks a guilty man flees when no one pursues."

"Diana—" Clark started.

"What? Diana?"

"Nothing. Bruce and I were just thinking of getting Diana something…Wait! I got it!"

"No, you wait! Who's Dian—"

"Powers Incorporated doesn't use farming equipment."

"What do you mean?"

"They have this new technology from Star Labs that helps them make plants that adapt to the terrain. No equipment needed. It sounds good in theory, which is why I'm sure Star Labs got involved but it does seem kind of fishy, doesn't it? Lois and I wrote an article on it a few months ago, actually."

"Both of you?"

"She squeezed me out of the by-line, of course, but I'm not sure if we can exactly tie them to anything substantial. At least not yet."

"If Powers isn't involved in Smallville's troubles , then who set fire to the Smiths' farm?"

"Wait, _fire?_ "

"Yes! That's why I'm calling you. This is getting serious! And honestly, I'm pretty concerned for people's safety."

"Wow! Are the Smiths okay?" That was the Superman in him kicking in.

"Yeah. Luckily, Abby and I were nearby so we got a hold of the fire department pretty quickly and they stopped it before it could spread near the houses but part of one of their barns caught. They didn't have anything but farming equipment and hay in there, though."

"That's good to hear. I'll talk to some people, see if Lois knows anything. I'm not sure if there is much I can do for your _right now_. Do you need me to come out there?"

"I've got this, Clark."

"All right. I'll call you back if I find anything else."

"Thanks."

"No problem, kiddo."

Kara rolled her eyes at the term of endearment and hung up on her cousin.

 ***

The next morning, the protesting mob outside the Powers office was even bigger and the worry lines around Abby's eyes were even more severe than they had been when they were trailing the goons the previous night. This time, there were more signs, mentioning the Smiths, and Mrs. Smith was red-faced and sobbing into her husband's chest.

Powers and a few other people—not the ones they'd followed—were milling about inside the office and whispering to each other, the lights still off. In the midst of all the yelling, Powers stepped forward and the crowd tensed like a skittish school of fish. They watched him slowly and deliberately open the door but not step out.

"We will be making a statement at noon at the capitol building. Thank you." He stated, not even having to raise his voice in the silence from the crowd. He slipped back into the office and he and his crowd disappeared into the dark recesses of the office building.

The crowd was silent for a few more seconds and then all of a sudden they all started shouting again.

"We have to go to that press conference at the capitol. You know that, right?" Kara said, leaning to whisper in Abby's ear as they inched away from the mob and towards the school.

"But we have school, Kara…"

"A little skipping never hurt anyone." Kara shrugged innocently.

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you, Kara?" She side-eyed her as they entered the school yard, where other students were milling around before the bell and watching the crowd. They were all grim-faced.

When the bell rang, the kids—clumped together in solemn groups—filed into the entrance hall, by the main offices. No one else heard it, but Kara heard sobbing and hushed voices. _Robbie_. She paused and Abby looked at her funny, like she was about to comment but Kara shushed her by holding a finger up to her own lips.

"We'll have him out of school for a while." Kara heard Robbie's mom say, patting Robbie on his shoulder.

"We understand. He'll be completely excused until he feels ready to come back, any time after the funeral."

They shook hands and moved out of the office and nearly slammed the door into the two girls standing just behind it.

"I'm so sorry!" Mrs. Lawson called at them, her face red with tears as she escorted her blubbering son out the front of the school.

"What's going on?" Abby's eyes were wide.

"I think Robbie's dad died." Kara whispered, ushering them away from the main office.

"Holy shit." Abby uncharacteristically swore and Kara couldn't help the single laugh that bubbled out of her at that. She slapped a hand over her mouth then.

"I'm so sorry. I don't think it's funny. It's just you swearing...caught me off guard."

Abby nodded solemnly. But before she could really say anything, Kara started focusing in on the chatter she heard down the hall.

 ***

"We had nothing to do with the fire. But, we deeply regret what has transpired here, knowing how devastating it can be to the livelihood of people in this neck of the woods. Local law enforcement and our own investigators have found that the cause of the fire was a gear malfunction in the Smith's crop counter.

"We are also saddened to hear of the loss of Robert Lawson, Sr., a pillar in this community. We will be sending a donation to the family to help cover funeral costs because we care about Smallville.

"Additionally, we're issuing a free trial of our products to all the farms in town, in hopes that it will replace the losses incurred by the public. We mean no harm and hope you will all welcome us into this community. Thank you."

Nelson Powers gave his speech in front of the capitol building, looking as fake as ever to Kara's eyes. Her and Abby were hiding in the back of the crowd, off to the side where no one would really see them, but they could still hear the lies coming from Powers' mouth.

"Abby, do you think you could ask your dad about this? It might still be classified or something but he could at least give us a hint about what's going on here."

"I could ask him. Dad's not one to talk about work too much at home, though." Abby said, biting her lip in thought.

"Well, then let's see him at work, then." Kara smiled brightly.

"We'll need something from Marty's, then." Abby laughed.

"How about a slice of red velvet?" Kara smirked, pulling her wallet from the pocket of her overalls.

"Perfect. Actually," she paused, thinking sneakily for a moment, "better make it two slices."

 ***

"Hi, Carol." Abby greeted the middle-aged woman seated at the front desk of the station.

"Well, hello there, little miss Abigail. I haven't seen your bright and shiny face in a while. What brings you down?"

"Just bringing some cake to my dad." She lifted up the bag with the Styrofoam boxes holding the cake slices just a little to show Carol.

"What kind of trouble did you get into _this time?_ " Carol eyed her good-naturedly.

"None! I swear!" Abby protested, playing it up just a little. Kara was proud of her.

"All right. Head on back. I think he's not too busy right now. Might be taking a lunch break, even."

"Thanks, Carol!"

Thomas Green was, in fact, eating his lunch when the two girls walked in.

"Abby…" his voice was low and his eyes darted between her and Kara. "What did you get into this time?"

"Nothing, Dad." She strategically placed the bag with the cake on his desk.

"Are you sure? ‘Cause it seems like you're trying to _butter me up_." He was eying what he knew was cake, though he didn't look unhappy about it.

"Well, what can I do for you girls? Are you here to report a crime?"

"Er...not _exactly_. We just had some questions. About Powers Inc…" Kara started, now that Abby had done her part.

Mr. Green sighed. "Yeah, I've been getting a lot of those types of questions lately. Folks aren't too happy about them bein' here."

"That's for sure.” Kara crossed her arms. “But the company just held a press conference about the Johnson’s fire and they mentioned that Mr. Lawson _died_. They said that the local police had figured out the problem was a gear malfunction in their crop counter."

"The local police?" Mr. Green looked confused, even went so far as to put down his sandwich. "We haven't worked with those Powers Inc. people at all. I wonder why they'd say that…"

"Hmm…" Kara hummed. "Do they not _know_ that everyone knows everything about everyone else in Smallville? A secret like that isn't going to just go away. Everyone's going to find out."

"Speaking of, aren't you girls missing school right now?"

Abby had the good graces to look sheepish, but Kara bold-face lied. "We got permission to leave since we're working on a piece for the school paper." She smiled brightly and Abby shifted so her body was a little bit behind Kara's, hiding her face from her father.

"Sure..." Mr. Green pulled a skeptical face. "Why don't y'all head on back, now, and we'll discuss this later."

"Okay." Abby piped up from behind her friend. "Bye, Dad!"

"Bye, girls."

They started to leave. “And thanks for the cake!” he called after them.

 ***

"So, I think I might have figured something out…" Kara trailed off, feeling a little nervous about what Clark might say. She expected him to tell her she wasn't _ready_ to take on something this big by herself.

"All right." He sounded like he was leaning back in a computer chair. "Let's hear it, then."

"Power's Inc. needs to leave. As soon as possible. They're causing problems here and mowing down anyone who stands in their way. They’re stirring up trouble and actually hurting people, to make them leave town. Just like all the other towns that they’ve been to before ours. I don’t know how people haven’t said anything before. We gotta take them out."

“Kara, you know farmers have very little say in what goes on in this country, especially to their own land. I know about the CAFOs and them employing those displaced farmers for next to nothing. It’s scary and that’s why me and Lois have written about it. But city-dwelling Americans just don’t want to hear it.”

“This is horrible. And scary. We have to do something!” Kara was shaking just a little as she gripped the phone.

"So, is Smallville going to have another _Supergirl_ sighting?"

"Perhaps.” Kara played it cool but she was elated at the suggestion. “And maybe Supergirl could go for a little help from her city-slicker cousin, Superman. If he's not too busy."

"Things are a little crazy here, but I think he could try to make an appearance. Just make sure he gets all the details."

"Okay. So, here's the plan—"

 ***

That night, Kara carefully took her brown wig off and brushed her blonde hair down after pulling off the unnecessary eyeglasses. She loved seeing herself as she really was, in her costume with her family crest on it. She wished Abby could see her like that, but her parents said she couldn't risk anyone in Smallville seeing her that way.

Making sure Ma and Pa were asleep, she flew out of the house and across town, landing on the roof of the Powers' Building. Through the skylight windows, she could see people milling around inside, disassembling more farming equipment and examining what appeared to be biological test samples—likely of their fast-growing plants. She waited, unsure of the right time to slip down and into the factory; she was nervous, more than she thought she would be, and hoped Clark showed up soon. Then, she saw that the goon-looking guys were starting to leave the room, clearly finished taking apart the farm equipment. _Damn_ , she swore. Only the scientists would be left if she didn’t stop them and she didn't necessarily see the scientist as the bad guys—kind of like what Clark was saying about Star Labs working with Powers Industry.  _It’s now or never._

Hastily, she flipped up one of the panels of the skylight windows and gently floated down, landing in the middle of the room. At first, no one even noticed her and she almost regretted the move.

"If you don't want to be involved in this fight,” she directed loudly to the scientists, “I suggest you leave now. The rest of you," she spun around to stare down the goons who were moving out the back, "this is what you're paid to do."

A few of the men laughed at her, clearly not taking her seriously, and kept walking away.

"All right, girly.” One of them smiled maliciously, “Don't ya think it's a little past your _bedtime?_ "

She laughed, her voice booming around the warehouse, and spotted a forklift in the corner. Smirking, she walked over to it and lifted it off the ground with one hand.

"You're getting _out_ of Smallville!" She screamed. "And you're not coming back!"

With that, Kara lifted the forklift over her head and threw it at an aquarium of plants she spotted at the last minute. As the glass shattered, she noticed Nelson Powers cowering among some of the scientists as they examined the little plant abominations. Kara liked the way he looked when she was scared and she wanted to keep it there so she floated a few feet off the floor and glared down at him, just barely holding back her laser vision but allowing her eyes to glow that menacing red. Powers trembled, clearly still frightened, but indignantly trying to keep himself together. Now, the scientists were fleeing the room, clearly deciding they were _not_ paid enough to go down with this ship. The body guards, on the other hand, moved towards her as Kara hovered closer to Nelson. She watched them move to grab some rope and turned back just in time to see Nelson pull a small remote from his pocket and press the only button on it.

As he pushed the button, more hired guards stormed the room, guns in tow. Kara easily avoided their bullets in the second it took for them to start pulling the triggers. Whirling in the air, she kicked one guard in the face just as she felt something hit her in the back of the head. Nelson had grabbed an empty aquarium and hurled it at her, the fragile glass shattering around her cranium. Now, she was _pissed_ off. But before she could retaliate, the roof crashed down around them, diverting everyone's attention from Kara to the intrusion.

"You just made a _big_ mistake." Clark boomed, floating down through the gaping hole in the ceiling, his cape billowing in the night air. Kara smiled, feeling a sense of triumph at the excellent back up and punched a guard who thought she couldn't see him if he snuck up from behind her.

"Superman!" Kara beamed, flying easily over to him.

"You all right?" Clark whispered, so softly only a Kryptonian could hear.

"I'm fine!" Kara answered, triumphantly spinning on all of the hired guns who had formed a defense line in attempt to take her and Clark down.

"Let's get these guys out of here!" Kara, said using her heat vision to melt the guns of the poor saps heading the formation. They never had a chance, yelping and screaming as the metal heated in their hands. Kara and Clark dished out a few more blows before Powers fled the building with his guards following after him, yelping and hollering about _getting the fuck out of here_. Kara looked to Clark, beaming. He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Nice work, Supergirl."

"Thanks." Kara replied.

"Now," Clark said, looking up at the hole in the ceiling. "We should probably do something about that."

"I don't see a point." Kara said, leaning back against one of the aquariums that still had some plants inside. At that moment, Kara felt someone grab her wrist. "What the—" she was immediately on the defensive and was about to laser someone when she looked down and realized it was one plants that had wrapped around her wrist. Kara pulled away, horrified, before shooting the plants with her heat vision anyway. Once the connection was severed the part of the plant wrapped around her wrist shriveled up and died, turning brown and falling away. She felt a little bad, feeling like it was a sentient plant that didn’t ask to be that way, and it was just reaching out for someone in the dark.

"Woah." Kara whispered, staring at the dead organic matter on the concrete floor.

"I think Star Labs would love to have a look at what Powers Incorporated has done with their technology." Clark looked a little horrified himself. "Not to mention,” he shrugged, “this would make one hell of a headline."

"Maybe this could be a by-line Lois _can't_ squeeze you out of!" Kara joked, bumping his shoulder; sometimes she still felt like she was the older one, despite Clark being nearly 36 now.

Clark chuckled in response. "You know,” he bumped her shoulder back, “it's been awhile since I've been home." He said, moving to put an arm around Kara's shoulders.

"I'm sure Ma and Pa would love to see you. Gosh," Kara placed a hand on her head in disappointment with herself, " _I've_ barely seen Ma and Pa since this all started."

"Too much sleuthing, huh? I know the feeling." Clark chuckled in agreement.

"I'm glad this is over." Kara sighed, her shoulders dropping. 

“For now.” Clark corrected and Kara felt a pang of disappointment. He was right—there was nothing vigilantes could do on the legal side. They had to leave that to actual litigators.

"Let's just go home." She suggested.

***

The next morning, Kara woke up to familiar smells from the kitchen. She could hear Clark talking to Ma about the previous night. _Pa must be outside_ , she thought as she got up and peered out her window through her curtains to see Pa was walking back to the house with a basket of fresh eggs. _What day is it, again?_ she wondered. _Friday_. _Crap, I'm going to be late_. At her lightning fast speed, she grabbed her hair brush and wig.

"Kara, could you come down here?" Ma called her down from the bottom of the stairs. It was muffled through her closed bedroom door.

"Just a second!" Kara called, adjusting the wig on her head and grabbing her backpack before rushing down the stairs.

"Hey, Ma. Did you need something?" She asked, coming into the kitchen to pick up a few pieces of bacon and toast and a sausage.

"Yes. Could you sit down, dear?" Ma was wiping her hands on a dish towel and she sat down across from Kara.

"I'm gonna be late, Ma." There was a slight whine in her voice, trying to indicate she really did not want to talk right then.

"Don't worry about it, Kara." Clark said, happily munching on a blueberry pancake at his usual spot at the table.

"Clark's right." Pa said, coming into the house and passing some honey to Ma that she had pantomimed at him to hand her.

Kara looked at her family in awe, partially at how comfortable they were with each other and partially at how much of a well-oiled a family they really seemed, and sat down anyway.

"So, what's up?" She set her food on the plate laid at her usual spot.

"The school called. Classes have been canceled." Ma said, passing Kara her favorite jam. "Everyone's all shaken up and everyone kind of wants to clean up before you guys head back to school."

"Oh." Kara nodded and stuffed a piece of bacon into her mouth. "Cool." she shrugged, feeling relieved but playing it cool as she started to spread the peach jam onto her toast.

"Honey." Ma said, in _that_ tone—the motherly one.

"Yeah?" Kara looked up, the toast now lodged in her mouth.

"We wanted to make sure you're _okay_ …" she trailed off, looking up at Pa instead.

"Oh, Ma." Kara immediately stood up and hugged her. "I'm totally fine. In fact, I honestly really enjoyed it."

Pa snorted a laugh. "Just like Clark." he said with a smile.

"A regular chip off the old block!" Clark laughed too and they all settled into a comfortable conversation as Pa fried up some of the eggs he’d gathered and Clark told them about things in Metropolis and Lois.

Afterward, they cleared the table and Kara hugged everyone.

"Pa, can I borrow the pickup?"

"What do you need it for?" he asked, giving her a knowing look.

"I want to go talk to Abby—make sure she's okay, too."

"Sounds good." He handed her the keys and she was off.

***

"Kara!" Abby lit up at the sight of her best friend on her doorstep. Before Kara could ask how Abby was, the other girl launched herself at Kara, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I'm glad you're okay!"

"Of course I am." Kara smirked and hugged Abby back firmly. "Actually," she pulled back, "I came over to check on you."

"Kara! Of course I'm fine. I wasn't even anywhere near the area when it all happened."

"Good." Kara smiled. "Well, in that case, I have something to show you. It's gonna be a bit of a drive though. You up for it?"

"Always." Abby smiled and Kara felt warmth spread through her; this was her best friend. She knew she was making the right decision.

***

"Jeez, you weren't kidding about it being a bit of a drive. We're not even _in_ Smallville anymore.”

"Yeah, that's kind of the idea." Kara said, pulling the truck to the side of the road. They hadn't seen any other cars for almost half an hour. "I guess this'll work." She cut the engine and climbed down out of the cab. Abby followed suit, a clearly confused expression on her face.

"What are you talking about, Kar? You're kinda scaring me." she said as she watched Kara take off her glasses and pull off her brown wig. "W-what? What are you doing? You wear _a wig?_ "

"Abby, you're the first friend I made when I came to Smallville and honestly you're the only person I trust. You’re my best friend, okay?"

Abby nodded. Kara took that as a sign to proceed. She took off, launching herself high into the morning sky, the sun beating down on her face and the wind whipping her hair as she did a loop in midair. She saw Abby gaping at her in disbelief. As always, Kara couldn't help showing off just a little; she flew over to where Abby was looking up at her and started to nose dive. Abby screamed and ducked, landing on her stomach on the ground and Kara flew just a foot above her before swooping right back into the air and doing several more flips.

When Abby got herself back off the ground and looked maybe a little bit more comfortable with what was going on, Kara finally landed.

"Pardon my language, but... _holy shit_." Abby stared at her, her eyes owlish behind her glasses. "How-how can you do that? What _are_ you?"

"You know Superman, right?"

" _Yeah_." Abby's eyes went wider, the cogs turning in her head. "Did he give you _superpowers_ or _something?_ "

Kara laughed. "No, no. We're _cousins_. From the same planet.” She pointed up, towards the sun, “It's the yellow sun. It gives us both these powers that we didn't have on Krypton."

"Oh." Abby adjusted her glasses, trying to look as though she was aloof but Kara could hear her heart racing, knew her excitement was barely contained. "Does this mean you're…"

" _Supergirl?_ " Kara cut Abby off, biting her lip in excitement. Abby simply nodded emphatically, not even bothering to pretend she wasn't totally freaking out—in a good way. "I am Supergirl!" Kara confirmed, beaming at her friend.

"Oh my _god!_ " Abby finally burst out and launched herself at Kara again, pulling her into an even tighter hug. "That is so cool! _Oh my god!_ "

"I know!" Kara bounced with excitement.

"Oh my god!" Abby was still freaking out. "I'm so excited for you!"

"Thanks, Abs." Kara smiled and then pulled away, moving to where she had left her wig and glasses.

"Now," Kara pulled them wig and glasses back on, "I think we have a certain pain-in-the-ass Lawson to go see."

"You're probably right."

***

"Robbie!" Mrs. Lawson called to the back of the house when the two girls asked for their classmate. "There are a couple'a girls here to see you!"

"Who is it?" They heard his muffled voice call back.

"There sheriff's daughter and the Kent girl!"

"All right! Coming!" They heard his door bang open and his footsteps pound down the staircase. "What can I do for you two ladies?" he asked upon seeing them, still standing in the open doorway, waggling his eyebrows at them. Kara felt a fondness for him, appreciating his good humor even when he was still hurting from his father's death.

"We just wanted to chat with you." Kara stepped up, feeling brave.

"I'll get some tea." Mrs. Lawson said, moving back inside towards the kitchen, giving the kids some space.

"Come on over here." Robbie ushered them to the porch where there were several rocking chairs and a table. Robbie sat in the one that clearly belonged to him. The girls sat on either side of him, avoiding the chair that was set farther away—clearly the one that used to belong to Mr. Lawson. Kara almost could feel a specter observing them as they sat there in silence, waiting for Mrs. Lawson to bring them the tea.

Despite being the ones to say they wanted to chat, Kara and Abby felt silent; they had no idea what they wanted to say. But Kara knew Abby wouldn't speak before she did, so she sighed and started to say something, but Robbie cut her off.

"How's the newspaper story going?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"Oh, well," Abby began "We sort of realized we needed to change the focus some. You know, with Powers Inc. gone and all. Still talk about it, but not talk about how they need to go, which was what it was initially going to be about..."

"You know, I got a quote from my Dad for the story." He laughed, only a tad bit bitter sounding, "It was mostly profanity, but I told him I'd just censor it."

"God, I'm so sorry, Robbie. I don't really know what else to say." Abby said, but she couldn't look at him. 

"It's okay, Green. I wouldn't expect you to. No one knows what to say when someone died."

"It's an odd feeling. I don't really know how to explain but, gosh, I wished I had been more like you when I lost my folks." Kara admitted.

"I'm sorry, Kara. It must have been really trying to lose both your folks at the same time." Robbie said, looking at his shoes. 

"I've never really talked about it with anyone but my cousin. But if you need to talk to someone, you know you can talk to me, right?" Kara tried to catch his eyes, knowing it was kind of a lost cause until he decided to look at her.

"Yeah. I guess the same to you as well." Robbie looked up at her then, shrugging as he watched his mom come out with a few glasses of tea in her hands. They silently watched her set them on the table and move back into the house.

“Thank you!” They all called to her and she waved them off.

"So, when should we run the story?" Abby asked, trying to break the tension.

"Well, we're off today." Robbie, said leaning back in his chair with his own glass of tea.

"Maybe by next week?" Kara suggested.

"Yeah. Did you guys hear who destroyed the place?"

"Everyone has, Robbie. Super-." Kara tried to say but Robbie cut her off.

"Supergirl _and_ Superman!" Robbie exclaimed. "It's like they're keeping tabs on us since the Unity thing!"

"Tabs?" Abby jokingly gasped. "Sounds like you're saying we should be suspicious." Abby's eyes slid over to Kara knowingly.

"No, they're awesome! I mean, they're _aliens_. They probably just know what's going on all over the world." Robbie's face was lit up with excitement and it mirrored Abby's from earlier. It sent a thrill of happiness through Kara at the sight; maybe she could trust Robbie eventually too.

"Yeah, right." Kara laughed giving Abby a look back.

"The school year’s almost over." Robbie said, still obviously excited about talk of Supergirl.

"Yeah." Abby sighed, sounding wistful.

"You guys got any plans?" Robbie asked.

"Well, I'm waiting to hear back about an internship in Gotham City." Abby said, crossing her fingers in front of her.

" _Seriously?_ " Robbie and Kara said in unison.

"Yeah. It's at the Daily Planet there."  Abby replied, sounding a bit dreamy.

"I know you'll get it!" Kara was so excited for her friend, she wanted to hug her for the third time in so many hours.

"Thanks. You got any plans, Kara? Maybe visit your cousin again in Metropolis?" Abby asked pushing her glasses back into place from where they were sliding down.

"Yeah! Hopefully, he lets me stay again. Maybe I'll see Supergirl and Superman, in person this time!" She smirked, looking over to Robbie.

"What about you, Robbie?"

"Honestly, it's oats harvesting season. I've got that and I'll probably just hang with the guys and stuff afterwards."

"Yeah. That'll be close to Clark's birthday, so I'll probably be out in the fields, too."

"Farmer kids. Can't relate." Abby sighed dramatically, winking at Kara.

"Hey. We all live in Smallville, at least!" Kara stuck her tongue out at Abby.

"That's right! We have something those city-slickers don't got." Robbie said confidently.

The three of them sat on the porch, comfortable in the silence as they all sipped on their tea, sweet as kisses.

"I think it'll be a good summer." Kara smiled, finishing up the last little bit of her tea.

"Yeah." Robbie smiled back. "Thanks for stopping by, guys."

"Absolutely." Abby stood up, gesturing for a hug. Robbie happily accepted it. Then Kara hugged him too.

"We'll see you around, plenty." Kara assured and the two girls filed back into the Kent's pickup truck.

***

"I'm so proud of you!" Kara said again, for the millionth time, hugging Abby tightly. "And I'm gonna miss you!"

"Kara." Abby pulled back, bracing Kara by the shoulders. "I told you. We're really not that far away. You can come see me any time." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Especially with those super speed powers of yours."

"I know, but still. I'm gonna be stuck here harvesting oats for the next two weeks before I can even get out of Smallville and in to Metropolis." She pulled a face at that.

"I know, I know. But you'll have a whole month after that! It'll be lots of fun. I can show you around Gotham and stuff when you get there."

"Thanks, Abs."

"Don't mention it, Kar."

The bus was in the terminal and the bus driver was ready to check Abby's ticket so she could board the bus.

"I'll see you real soon, okay?" Kara said, hugging her one last time.

"Absolutely!"

***

**Author's Note:**

> Kayla and I have been working on this for months! We even had it looked at by another friend. We've just been so busy this semester but we finally got it edited and posted. We're very happy with it and hope that it was as fun to read as it was to write. We're also working on a sequel, which will include batdad and uncle Clark and probably the holy trinity. It should be a lot of fun! So keep an eye out for that too!


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